With a gulp, Klyran hesitantly got in position to attack. He tried to quickly find his balance with the sword that Ylvis was kind enough to give him. A substitute he called it, to use while his own weapon is being repaired.

“Do you not need your sword?” the younger of the two asked, slightly jumping from one leg to another.

The Kenman simply shook his head and gestured to Klyran to attack him whenever he was ready.

At first, the Ryan hesitated. He did not wish to fight against someone who didn’t have a weapon. Something that did not go unnoticed by the Kenman. An admirable trait of an honourable man, who refused to attack someone with a clear disadvantage, despite what he might gain out of it. With a sigh, Klyran put the sword he had on the ground and raised his arms preparing to attack.

“Are you making fun of me?” the Kenman suddenly asked, startling the young Ryan, who quickly shook his head, “Then take your sword and come at me with all you've got.”

“But you don’t have a weapon”, Klyran then pointed out, as if that was not obvious.

“Are you worried about me? How adorable. But if you do not wish to fight, then stop wasting my time”, the Kenman tilted his head as he spoke.

With one last sigh, the Ryan gripped his borrowed weapon and swung it at his opponent. Looking disinterested, the Kenman simply stepped aside, as if he tried to avoid a rock on the ground in his path, and not someone who held a blade.

“This is not your weapon” he pointed out, noticing how awkward the Ryan held it.

“Mine is with Ylvis, lays broken. He gave me this one to use meanwhile” he said and dropped his head.

“That type of sword has to be gripped with two hands”, the Kenman simply said.

Klyran did as he was told, but it felt alien to him. The older man then told him to swing it a few times to get a feel of it and he did just that. In that moment, he knew that such a weapon would never fit him. It was way too heavy and slowed him down, when compared to his own weapon. He saw the Kenman watch him and felt embarrassed. He should have waited for Ylvis to fix his sword before coming here, he scolded himself.

He then noticed the Kenman leave and approach a house that stood at the end of the small field and went inside. It must have been his home, Klyran thought with resignation. Thinking that the match was over before it even begun. He looked down at the weapon in his arms and scowled, thinking about whether or not he could challenge the man again to a fight once his sword was fixed.

Then, he saw the Kenman come out again. This time, holding a sword in his arm. He threw it at Klyran, who quickly dropped the weapon in his arms to catch it. It was another sword, thinner and lighter than the one he currently had. It was more similar to his own blade. The main difference was that the Kenman’s blade was smooth and silky, while his own was rough. He stood and admired it. Thinking about how beautiful his weapon could be if Ylvis would craft it properly, with tools, not with his hands as Klyran has done.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The Kenman then approached him, took the bulky sword laying near his feet and lifted it with ease, taking it away. He dropped it near his house and then returned to the Ryan. He tilted his head and gestured him to attack.

Feeling more confident, now that he had a fitting weapon, Klyran carefully jumped. Aldryn warned him about his speed, how he was faster than many other creatures. Also how it was often his only advantage. He was unable to see the Kenamn’s Character Information, but he still wasn’t sure if it was another skill that blocked his own, or something else. The thought that maybe the Kenman’s numbers were too high for him to see did cross his mind, but then again, the Race also appeared as ??.

Every time Klyran attacked, the Kenman would simply step aside, looking bored all the while. Gaining more confidence, Klyran went fasted, only to be dodged again with ease. Every time he swung his sword, he would do it faster, and gain more respect and admiration toward the Kenman. When he reached his maximum speed, one that many would not be able to follow, he believed that the match would turn in his favour, only to be disappointed. The Kenman could still follow him with his eyes and step aside with ease from every attack. When he finally noticed that Klyran could not go any faster, he waited a few minutes, just to confirm it. When it became obvious that the Ryan was moving at his top speed, the Kenman fisted his hand and at the next swing, hit him in the chest, making the young man fly back.

Klyran stood up and coughed, not expecting the Kenman to attack. He though at some point during the match that the Kenman would simply dodge until he would nick him, or become too tired to fight. But it appeared that the older man grew tired of this game.

“Is that all you’ve got?” he taunted the young man.

“Ildurin said that you fought him with your sword” Klyran could not help but whine like a child, “Why don’t you fight me like that?”

“I did” he agreed, “And you should be glad, because that fight was over in less than 5 seconds. You have spend nearly an hour with me. Consider that an honour, child” he said.

While he knew that the Kenman was right, he could not help but pout. In that moment, Klyran truly seemed like the child that he still was. Despite having lived nearly a lifetime of a human, in the eyes of another Ryan he was still but a small child. Then, Klyran gripped the blade in his arms swung it again, this time preparing for the counter attack that he didn’t doubt would come. Despite knowing that it was coming, Klyran still fell to the ground with a gasp.

The two of them continued like that for a bit more. The Ryan would give it all in trying to at least put a scratch on the Kenman. While the other man would step aside with ease and kick or punch him. On the tenth attempted, it seemed that the Kenman decided to end their little game. He quickly grabbed Klyran by his arm when he tried to attack him. He kicked him behind his knee, making him fall to the ground and twisted his arm behind his back, making sure not to hurt the younger man. In the spawn of a single second, Klyran found himself kneeling on the ground, with one of his arms behind his back and the blade he wielded at his throat.

The Kenman then stood up and shoved him to the ground, making the Ryan fall and roll to his back, wishing to see any attack coming his way. Then, unexpectedly, the Kenman begun to laugh and sing again.

“Little fawn. Little fawn. Oh how lucky you are”, he sung and leaned over Klyran, “Lose those little hooves of yours. And maybe this wolf will help you grow your claws.”

With a flick, the Kenman gently hit one of Klyran’s fingers, but it did not hurt. The Ryan could not help but think about the strange words that he was hearing.

“I though that I was supposed to have antlers” the Ryan said, trying to make sense of the words.

“Silly little fawn”, the Kenman said, “You don’t have any. They were ripped away remember?” he then continued, as if trying to explain something to a child.

“And how do you suggest then, that I loose the….. hooves?” Klyran then asked, trying to remember if he spoke the words correctly.

“The Greenyards are decent on their feet” the older man said with a shrug and then went back into his home, with his blade trailing behind him, scraping the ground.

Looking as the now closed door closed, the young black-haired Ryan gave one last sigh and stood up. He looked at the house for a few more minutes, wondering if the Kenman would come back outside. When he didn’t, Klyran grabbed the borrowed bulky sword, turned around, and headed back to Ylvis.

Upon his arrival back. Klyran noticed that Aldryn and Ylvis were in a deep conversation. He did not wish to intrude, so he gently knocked on the door frame, causing both of them to look at him.